Wales force injured Koumas to turn up and prove it

John Toshack's patience with Jason Koumas appears to be wearing increasingly thin, with the Wales manager insisting yesterday that the Wigan midfielder must be assessed by the national team's medical staff after he withdrew with a thigh injury from the imminent Euro 2008 qualifiers in Cyprus and San Marino.

Toshack was careful not to criticise Koumas, who has played in only one of Wales's last eight away games, but his frustration was obvious.

Koumas's decision to pull out - he did likewise before last month's trip to Slovakia - means Toshack will be without three key players for Saturday's fixture in Cyprus, with the Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey also injured and Craig Bellamy unlikely to join the squad until Monday as he continues his recovery from a similar groin operation to the one Michael Owen under went recently.

Toshack did not ask Bellamy to report to Wales's headquarters to be examined. "If he has to miss a match for us you can be sure there is something up," he said. "You can't say that about all of them." Toshack was not referring directly to Koumas but the implication was clear, and he said he could "understand" people questioning the 28-year-old's commitment.

Had Koumas failed to turn up in Cardiff yesterday the FAW would have been in a position, under Fifa rules, to prevent him from playing for Wigan on Saturday week. "It was important that we saw for ourselves and had him here to assess the injury and to make our own decisions about when he could be available," Toshack said. "It's quite clear Jason is in discomfort and has a hip and muscle problem. I am disappointed with the situation but now happy in my own mind about his problem," he added.

"I don't know why he misses so many [games]. The first game with the Czech Republic he had problems with his transfer from West Brom. The second, at Croke Park, he had two yellow cards. He was injured against the Germans and missed the trip to Slovakia. He wasn't available for the Bulgaria game, either. Is it just one of those things? No, it's four of those things."

Bellamy's unexpected return for the San Marino match on Wednesday at least provided better news, even if the Wales manager finds it difficult to believe it is possible to play so soon after surgery. "I can speak from my own experience and playing with stitches still in doesn't seem right," said Toshack. "In Craig's case, I thought Cyprus might be too soon for him. He's going to miss the match. Owen had the same operation [and] it must be driving Sam [Allardyce] mad. To see these people being operated on, having stitches, coming on and scoring - it's fantasy football."